Division I - Biology, Chemistry, and Process Engineering

Gemeinsame Bewerbung von KIT und FIZ Karlsruhe im Interessenbekundungsverfahren der Gemeinsamen Wissenschaftskonferenz erfolgreich.

In der Nationalen Forschungsdateninfrastruktur (NFDI) sollen die wertvollen Datenbestände von Wissenschaft und Forschung für das gesamte deutsche Wissenschaftssystem systematisch erschlossen, vernetzt und nutzbar gemacht werden. Bislang sind sie zumeist dezentral, projektbezogen oder auf Zeit verfügbar. Bund und Länder werden die NFDI gemeinsam fördern und mit diesem digitalen Wissensspeicher eine unverzichtbare Voraussetzung für neue Forschungsfragen, Erkenntnisse und Innovationen schaffen. Die Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz (GWK) hat nun beschlossen, das Direktorat der NFDI in Karlsruhe anzusiedeln, sowie das Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) und das FIZ Karlsruhe mit den Aufgaben zu betrauen, die in der komplexen Gründungsphase anstehen.

Researchers Want to Use Air-conditioning and Ventilation Systems for Decentralized Production of Carbon-neutral Synthetic Fuels – Publication in Nature Communications.

Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the University of Toronto have proposed a method enabling air conditioning and ventilation systems to produce synthetic fuels from carbon dioxide (CO2) and water from the ambient air. Compact plants are to separate CO2 from the ambient air directly in buildings and produce synthetic hydrocarbons which can then be used as renewable synthetic oil. The team now presents this "crowd oil" concept in Nature Communications. (DOI: 10,1038/s41467-019-09685-x).

Within the TRANSITION Project, KIT, HIU and partners will develop powerful Sodium-ion battery prototypes for future application in electro-mobility and stationary energy storage.

To provide an environmentally friendly, cost-effective and high-performing alternative to lithium-ion batteries – that’s the goal for the next generation of sodium-ion batteries. The technically relevant active materials and electrolytes are currently being designed and optimized by scientists of the Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena (FSU). Within the TRANSITION project, they are developing solutions to ensure the technology transfer of sodium-ion batteries to the industrial level, making a significant contribution to a more sustainable energy storage market in Germany. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with EUR 1.15 million for a duration of three years.

KIT Coordinates Germany-wide DFG Priority Program – Investigation of Catalytic Systems under Fluctuating Operation Conditions When Using Wind and Solar Energy.

In 2050, 80% of the electric power in Germany has to be based on renewable resources. To reach this goal, it is required to store electric power in the form of chemical energy carriers. Within the priority program “Catalysts and Reactors under Dynamic Conditions for Energy Storage and Conversion” (SPP 2080, DynaKat) funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), twelve big research consortia study how catalytic reaction systems behave under such conditions. The priority program is coordinated by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

Within the Si-DRIVE European Research Project, KIT, HIU, and Partners Will Develop Innovative Solutions – Their Goal Is to Establish a European Lithium-ion Battery Production.

Scientists of the Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) founded by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and their European cooperation partners are developing a sustainable cell concept that is exclusively based on ecologically and economically uncritical materials. Within the Si-DRIVE project, the consortium analyzes the complete value-added chain of a battery and plans to establish European production by 2030. The project is funded by the European Union (EU) with EUR 8 million. The project duration is four years.

For the First Time, a Research Group Successfully Uses Eggshells as Electrode for Energy Storage.

Biowaste in the form of chicken eggshells has proved to be very effective for energy storage. This finding was made by an international team of researchers, including scientists of the Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) established by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). In the journal Dalton Transactions of the Royal Society of Chemistry, they present the sustainable storage material that might be used in a low-cost lithium-ion capacitor. (DOI: 10.1039/c8dt03252a)